St. Paul Lowertown ballpark financing votes this week

A new preliminary design concept for the planned Saints stadium, with a daytime view of the outfield. Saints' mascot "Mudonna" looks on. (Courtesy of the city of St. Paul)

A new brew house, a parking lot dispute and a $9 million budget increase are all circling the future home of the St. Paul Saints.

With the St. Paul City Council on the verge of confirming a $9 million amendment to the Lowertown ballpark project's construction budget on Wednesday, the board of the St. Paul Port Authority gave preliminary approval Tuesday to a major ballpark bond issue. The Port Authority and the city council have a series of additional votes before them to approve the bond sale.

"There's a process we have to follow," said Todd Hurley, the city's director of financial services. "We're not done."

Meanwhile, residents of the Markethouse Condominiums say they're at an impasse with the city over the fair market value of their private parking lot, which will be eliminated for construction and likely will become green space near the future third base.

The residents are scheduled to lose the 55-stall lot across the street from the condo building Aug. 1.

"We're kind of going nowhere quick," said Chris Mullen, president of the condo association.

A hearing on the city's plans to take the lot by eminent domain is scheduled for Aug. 19 in Ramsey County District Court. The condo owners disagree with the city over the fair market value of the lot, and they say the city's efforts to broker permanent space for them with a nearby lot owner have fallen apart.

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Most nearby ramps and surface lots offer month-to-month rates, as opposed to more permanent leases.

"We were really looking for replacement parking, not a buyout. We can't park our cars in a checking account," Mullen said.

Joe Campbell, a spokesman for St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman, said the city has not given up on working out a fair solution.

That dispute has not stopped a new brew house from preparing to move into the condo building, right next to the Heartland Restaurant.

St. Paul resident Bill Sweasy has dedicated a Facebook page to "Mr. McGeasil Brewing," (www.facebook.com/MrMcGeasil), which has announced a line of "custom and experimental beers," as well as possible "nutritional" beers. The page does not list an opening day or location, but Sweasy had planned to close on the purchase of three levels within the Markethouse building this month.

"We're close," Sweasy said. "We're going back and forth on the closing terms. Our front door would open up to the Saints. I'm really excited about it."

The $63 million Saints ballpark project still has many steps to go. Port Authority officials will appear before the St. Paul City Council on July 31 to discuss the port's mandatory levy, which would be used as a final backstop if a series of bond guarantees -- including rent payments from the Saints -- fall apart. The levy would include an $800,000 increase, which the Port Authority expects to waive each year for 25 years.

"The bonds are much more marketable with the Port Authority behind them," said board member Kathy Lantry, who also chairs the St. Paul City Council.

If team rents are insufficient to cover the bonds, part of the Port Authority's partnership agreement with the city states that the city has a "moral obligation" to "confer in good faith and utilize their best efforts" to find another way to pay, or identify another source of funding for Port Authority operations.

That could mean, but does not necessarily require, a short-term loan to the Port Authority or money taken from a city levy, among other options.

"It seems like a really lopsided deal," said Vice Chair Joan Grzywinski. "Everything good about it is in the city's favor."

"It's somewhat controversial across the country," said John Regal, chair of the Port Authority board. He added, however, that a city-owned ballpark is "apples and oranges" compared to a private video game venture, and city officials recognize that St. Paul's coveted credit rating depends on the city meeting its financial obligations, including the bond payments.

"Nobody in their right minds is going to back away from something like this, given the ramifications of what could happen to the city's credit," said board member Dan Bostrom, who also sits on the city council.

A public hearing on the Port Authority levy would take place Aug. 24, and the Port Authority board would vote on the parameters and pricing for up to $10 million in ballpark bonds Sept. 24.